Just One Yesterday
by DawnStarSky
Summary: Rated M to be safe due to strong language and possibility of violence/gore Hanzo accepts an invitation extended by Genji to join Overwatch after being pestered by Talon for years. The world is changing, but not in the way they might have expected. I'm trying to keep this Fic ship-free to avoid shipping wars
1. Chapter 1

_**Note!**_  
 **I do not own Overwatch or any characters associated with it, all I own are the non-canon characters I used as fillers!**  
 **Overwatch belongs to Blizzard entertainment.**

 **I also apologize for my terrible Japanese - I haven't taken lessons in years and I don't remember a lot ;3;.**

* * *

Trudging through the snow, huddled in his thick coat and scarf, hands buried in his pockets to keep them from freezing. The snow stuck to the fur rim of his hood, wind whipping at the exposed part of his upper face. His bow and quiver strapped across his back had a comforting weight to it, and he kept walking. A large metal gate came into view through the blizzard, and he approached, slamming a tired hand to the intercom.  
"Yes?" A young voice came through the speakers.  
"I am here to see Genji Shimada." His voice was hoarse and rough from hours without water, and he could barely feel his toes or fingers.  
"I'll put the commander through." A short beep made him snarl in frustration until a rough, aged voice came through.  
"Hello?"  
"I ask to be granted access, I come by an invitation from Genji Shimada."  
"Who are you?"  
"My name is Hanzo Shimada. His brother."  
"Ah, I see."  
The gate groaned as it slid open.  
"You'd best come in then."

He tried not to make his movements look hurried as he entered the facility. It was pleasantly warm, despite the stark white and grey walls. A tall, aged man with a scar across his face stood waiting for him. He pulled his scarf away from his mouth, eyeing the man suspiciously.  
"My name is Jack Morrison. It's a pleasure to meet you." He extended a hand for Hanzo to shake, which he did.  
"Where is Genji?"  
"All in good time, he is out on a mission for now, but he will be back soon."  
"How soon?"  
"Hopefully this evening."  
This put Hanzo's mind at rest, and allowed Morrison to lead him to his quarters - apparently Genji had fought for him to get a decently large suite to himself.

He made himself comfortable as Morrison left the room, telling him he'd update him when Genji gets back.  
It was a simple, modest room. A single large bed indented into the wall, a large window to the outside, a desk and chair, adorned with stationary, a door leading to the en suite bathroom, and a TV, accompanied by a couch and coffee table. There was a coffee machine to the left of the couch, but Hanzo never was one to have coffee on his own.  
He switched on the TV and mindlessly watched the channel it was had tuned into by default, trying to pass the time. Eventually, he got bored and ventured over to the desk, thinking of writing, but wound up drawing instead. He sketched for what only seemed like a couple of minutes, but turned out to be hours by the time he was done. A knock on the door shook him out of his sketching stupor, and he grunted under his breath because of this interruption.  
"Come in."  
Morrison carefully opened the door, looking rather sullen.  
"Genji's back but.."  
"But what?"  
"He suffered heavy damage."  
"What?" Hanzo's voice was concealing his silent rage as he turned to look at the man.  
"You can come and see him but...It's not pretty."  
Hanzo was already up and through the door, following the signs to the medical suite, demanding to see Genji. The doctor - a fetching woman who introduced herself as Doctor Ziegler - lead him to where Genji was laying on a bed, his visor dimmed slightly, and electricity jumping from his joints like a broken toy, some of his armour was mangled from impact with something, but Hanzo couldn't bring himself to ask what had happened.  
He didn't need to ask, or even utter a word before Genji spoke.  
"I am fine, brother."  
Hanzo looked away in shame of the tears brimming at the corners of his eyes. When he came to see his brother again, he did not expect to see him in such a weakened state.  
"What happened?" It pained him to ask, but he needed to know, least he won't sleep later on.  
"We were sent out to recapture a talon operative who escaped from prison. I guess that I must have overestimated his perceptiveness."  
At the mention of the group, Hanzo's lip curled in disgust. That group had caused him many an issue when he was wandering, from assassination attempts to recruitment offers. His reputation as the heir for the Shimada crown must have extended further than just Japan.

Noting his reaction, Genji stayed silent. He didn't want to know what Hanzo had been through during their years apart. Getting over the initial shock of seeing his younger brother in such a vulnerable state, and the sound of his voice through the automated voice-box of his cybernetic enhancements, Hanzo ran a tired hand through his hair, sighing.  
"I should go and rest, it has been a long day."  
Genji's head inclined slightly.  
"You should. I can tell that this has been a lot to take in all at once."  
"Then I wish you a good night, brother."  
"Arigatō kyōdai."

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AN: This is probably the first fanfic I've taken seriously, let me know how/if I should continue this!


	2. Chapter 2

In the mess hall, Hanzo sat on his own for breakfast, head bowed. The image of Genji, mangled and torn on that medical bed wouldn't leave his mind. He didn't realise he had disconnected from reality a bit until a voice pulled him out.  
"Hey, ya mind if I join you?"  
He looked up to see a young woman, certainly younger than him, eyes covered by some sort of bandana, and hair tied back in a sloppy fashion. There were a few burns and scars over her face and exposed arms, but her hands were covered in thick, but charred gloves, which she removed after she put her tray down.  
"Of course not, I am not completely adverse to company." He could tell she wouldn't take no for an answer at this point, and was just too tired to argue.  
She smiled at him, metal prosthetics clanking with the cold metal of the chair.  
"So what made ya pull a sour face then, huh?" Her voice had a slight scottish accent that bounced along her words. "You worried or something?"  
"You...could say that."  
"I can always tell when someone's upset. It's in their voice and the way they hold themselves."  
This struck him as odd. How could she see with a bandana over her eyes?  
"You can see?"  
"Kind of. Its this weird Echolocation thing, because eye prosthetics are dangerous to implant, the good Doctor Ziegler decided that enhancing my hearing would help more."  
"I see."  
"Of course ya can, you have eyes!" She snorted a bit at her own joke, and Hanzo managed a bemused smile. Usually he would ask someone to leave at this point, but it was something about the way she asserted herself, the way she cracked a joke so casually, but couldn't hold back a snort that drew him to her. It was familiar, something to hold onto in an unfamiliar and strange place.

"So what's your name?"  
They had been talking for a good part of the morning, seeing as the newbie missions weren't usually held until the early afternoon. He learnt that her customized prosthetics were a practical choice instead of a style choice - they helped her movement.  
"Hanzo Shimada. And you are?"  
"Ailsa Peucag, Smith and Fighter."  
It was good to know each other's names, because despite talking about certain subjects and learning each other's views, they never properly introduced themselves.

A young man approached Ailsa, whispering something to her before stepping back a little.  
"I gotta go, but I'll see you again sometime, ok?"  
"Very well, until we meet again."  
She waved, and left the room with the boy, who was gripping her hand and leaning his head on her shoulder, laughing softly at her jokes.

It wasn't until around one in the afternoon that Hanzo was called up to go on a 'Trust establishing' newbie mission.  
"These will be your comrades for today." Morrison said, opening the door to the dropship.  
A huge man in armour towered over everyone else in the ship, talking to an elderly woman holding a rifle. The man's hammer leaned against a nearby wall, almost as long as Hanzo is tall.  
Ailsa sat next to the woman, talking to the boy from earlier, and another four or five foot soldiers hovered around in small groups.  
"This is strike team Beta." Morrison indicated to the foot soldiers. "And this is General Reinhardt Wilhelm, Captain Ana Amari, Lieutenant Ailsa Peucag, and Lieutenant Connor Freed." He pointed to each of them as he introduced them, and each of them looked up to acknowledge Hanzo as their name was called.  
"Everyone, this is our newest recruit, Hanzo Shimada - Genji's brother."  
A chorus of 'Hey' and 'Hello my friend' or (In Ailsa's case) 'Heyo!' resounded throughout the ship, and he inclined his head in greeting.

Ailsa got up and pulled him over to Reinhardt and Ana, enthusing over how he was the one she told them about, and how he used a bow instead of a gun. Reinhardt was just as enthusiastic, and Ana looked rather bemused at the two. Hanzo simply took a seat an answered the questions thrown at him like hot potatoes with a calm air, as if he was teaching two children, even though Reinhardt was clearly much older than him.

He didn't even realise the ship had taken off by the time they arrived. Ailsa and Reinhardt were the first to stand up, and the others soon followed.  
"Remember team, this is just a scouting mission."  
"We got it, we got it." Ailsa sighed. "Every mission is just a scouting mission with the grandparents."  
"Ah, Ailsa, Bored before we even get started again are we? There may be Honor to be won yet!"  
The doors opened, and Ailsa immediately took control of the situation, asserting herself despite there being superiors who had more experience than her.  
"We're gonna need to split up. Ana, Rein, you guys take half of the foot soldiers, I'll take everyone else, seeing as both Hanzo and Connor are new here. If you see anything strange, report it to me or the commander."  
With quick nods, the two parties split up to search the area. Hanzo could immediately identify signs of gang crime and violence, and the thick smell of tobacco seemed to follow them everywhere.

Groups of local thugs would stop to stare them down, and bystanders would shrink back into the alleyways or doors of their houses.  
"Nothing off yet." One of the soldiers commented. "Hopefully it'll be as smooth as last time."  
"Emphasis on hopefully." Connor said, voice soft but bitter.  
Ailsa walked on, ignoring the others. Hanzo could see her clicking her tongue every now and then to see where she was going, but otherwise made no sound.

It was smooth sailing for a while, until a large black shape hid the sun from view. The group looked up, and time froze.  
A huge creature, around seven feet tall towered over them, long, sharp teeth bared, sniffing and snarling, eyes fixed on the collective members of the group. It seemed like hours before the thing took off, sprinting down the street towards a larger group of monsters.  
"So much for smooth." Ailsa smirked. "We gotta get out of here, and fast."  
She cursed under her breath, muttering something about 'crazy Talon bastards'. Hanzo didn't quite catch what she said, as the entire group started to sprint back towards the dropship, where Ana and Rein were already waiting with at least half their group injured or missing.  
"Monsters?"  
"A portal." Ana replied, face stony. "There were bits of Talon armour and vehicle around it, so I'll give you two guesses as to who opened it."  
Ailsa cursed again, and commanded the pilot to get them back to base.

It was a few days before any of them ventured out further than the expansive corridors and training areas to go on another mission.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I got a review saying that Ailsa is pretty much Tracer but an OC, so I just want to point out that she really isn't. However, you have only had one chapter to see her, but trust me when I say she isn't a Tracer clone.  
Personally, I really don't like Tracer, so ya gotta ask - why would I make an OC like her?  
If you're interested, I made a reference sheet for her, which you can find on my deviantart ( .com)

* * *

"He has made a full recovery, let him get some rest for a while, and he will be as good as new."  
"Thank you, Doctor."  
He gave Ailsa a rare smile when she asked him about Genji.  
"He is going to be perfectly fine again."  
"That's good, he's a pretty cool guy, it's a shame he got hurt."

She walked back down the corridor, an arm length bit of metal over her shoulder.  
"If you need me, I'll be in the forge. Just ask someone where it is if you can't find it."  
Hanzo nodded in acknowledgement, before heading in the opposite direction, back to his room.

It had been a few days since he joined, and his room's walls were covered in sketches of mythical beasts and landscapes. The way he arranged them made it look like the small bits of paper spread out like a flower from his desk.

One of the sketches in the center was a replica of the photograph he had taken with him when he left Hanamura. The photo in question (An old, faded picture of him and Genji when they were younger) hung next to it.  
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he sighed deeply. He regretted everything he had done in his past, but he knew that he could not go back to retry. He'd have to make do with what he had, and work on forgiving himself as his brother had done.

He picked up his pencil, and tried to sketch the picture again, but found himself erasing it and trying again, over and over again.  
Eventually, he got fed up and settled for the TV, eyeing his bow and quiver in the corner. Apparently the training rooms were good for exercises and burning boredom.

He mulled it over for a few minutes, flicking mindlessly through the channels. After finding nothing of interest, he got up, took his weapon and headed into the corridor. He thought he had seen the corridor that led to the rooms somewhere before, but couldn't quite remember where, seeing as most of his time was spent in the medical bay.  
He set off at a brisk walk, passing many people on his way, but it didn't cross his mind to actually ask one of them where the training rooms were; at least until he walked right into someone.

"My apologies."  
"Woah there, you're in a bit of a rush aintcha?"  
Looking up, Hanzo came face to face with a tall-ish man wearing a cowboy hat and a red poncho. He had a still-smoking cigar clamped between his teeth, which made Hanzo cough involuntarily.  
"You...lookin' for somethin'?"  
"The training rooms, yes."  
"Ah, well yer goin' in the wrong direction buddy, they're back down that there corridor to the right."  
"Thank you…?"  
"McCree, Jesse McCree."  
"Thank you McCree."  
"Don't mention it."  
Following McCree's directions, Hanzo finally found the training rooms, and didn't have too much of an issue finding an unoccupied one.  
It was filled with traditional stationary targets, programmable bots and a small AI interface with a logo and the name 'Athena' on it.  
Pulling an arrow from the quiver and notching it, he carefully took aim at one of the still targets and let it fly  
Bullseye.  
He didn't expect anything less from himself, but he wanted to make sure that he was still able to shoot after much disuse.  
He laid his bow down and approached one of the bots, trying to figure out how to activate it.  
"Would you like some help?"  
An african-accented female voice came through the speakers suddenly, almost scaring Hanzo out of his skin. He looked over to the Interface questioningly.  
"Yes, I would."  
"You wanted to activate one of the bots, correct?"  
"Yes, preferably moving or firing."

"Of course, please give me a moment."  
With a clicking noise, the light on the bots head activated, and it began to move. After creating a distance of around thirty meters between them, it began to fire.  
"The bullets this bot fires won't do any lasting damage to you, but may cause damage to objects around you, so please try to be careful."  
He simply nodded in response, notching another arrow to his bow and proceeding to hone his skills again, recalling when his father forced him to spar against another member of the clan.  
This continued for around an hour before he got clumsy and let a few of the bullets hit his bow. At first this did nothing, but after repeatedly taking abuse from the synthetic projectiles, it started to yield, before snapping completely. The bot stopped, and so did time for Hanzo. He was devastated. After around a decade or more of use, his trusted weapon had finally broken. It wasn't unfixable, but Hanzo didn't have the know-how to actually do it himself - something he now regretted not paying attention to.

As if reading his frantically searching mind, Athena spoke up.  
"Torbjorn or the Smith might be able to help fix your bow. They're in the forge."  
"And where would that be?"  
"The third corridor down from the Medical Bay."  
He left the room without another word, cursing himself for being careless. He glanced at the door for the medical bay, reminding himself to check on Genji on his way back - he spent most of his days by his side - and hurried on, accidentally passing the corridor it was down before backtracking and finding his way there.  
Opening the door, the strong smell of burnt honey and a wave of heat hit him, disorientating him temporarily before gaining his bearings again. Ailsa stood over a forge with a stone mallet, beating a long strip of metal into shape, then handing it over to a short man with a long braided beard. Turning her head, she looked over in Hanzo's direction.  
"Hey"  
"Greetings, Ailsa."  
"Oh, Hanzo! What a surprise. Why are you here?"  
"You said that I should come and find you if I needed your assistance, correct?"  
She clicked her tongue a couple of times, pausing to listen.  
"Ah, I hear."  
She patted a workbench next to her.  
"Lay it down here, I'll get it fixed up for you."  
"Are you sure you can?"  
"I can fix almost anything, It'll be fine."  
"Thank you."  
"Don't thank me yet. It'll take me a few hours, I can get it fixed for tomorrow."

Hanzo inclined his head in gratitude, and turned to leave.  
"By the way, Genji's getting released in a couple of days, maybe you should go down the the village down the hill with him."  
"Maybe I will."  
Hanzo vaguely recalled the tiny village he passed by on his way up. It was a quaint little place, with family-run coffee shops and small general stores. Most of the houses were cottages, with ivy creeping over the windowsills.

Realising he was lingering, he quickly apologised and walked out of the room, planning on heading back to his apartment-like quarters, but instead found Reinhardt and McCree.  
"Ah, my friend, why are you in such a rush?" Boomed Reinhardt, grinning widely. "We were just looking for you!"  
"Why?" Hanzo enquired. It had been a long time since anyone went looking for him, but usually it wasn't a good thing.  
"To get a drink of course." McCree spoke up, blowing smoke into Hanzo's face as he spoke, making the already disgruntled archer even more so. "You're not busy, are ya?"  
"...No."  
Reinhardt put his arms around McCree and Hanzo suddenly with a loud 'AHA!' and before Hanzo knew it, he was sitting between a giant of a man and a cowboy in a quaint little bar.  
He had never felt so confused in his life.

The bar was intercontinental, meaning that you could order almost any drink from around the world; which was lucky for Hanzo, seeing as his favorite alcoholic beverage was Sake.  
"You know, that Sake ain't half bad." McCree commented, taking drink from his glass. "But I prefer a little bite to my liquor."  
Hanzo snorted.  
"Of course, what an unsophisticated taste."

"Gentlemen, Gentlemen, let's not start a fight over a drink!"  
"Of course, sorry Rein." McCree actually seemed apologetic - even though it was Hanzo who was being the hostile one, and there was no way he was going to apologise.

The trio kept drinking and talking until the late hours of the evening, where they had to find a way home, back up the snowy paths of the mountain. They had all drunk a little too much - Hanzo had been more careful than the other two, but was still slightly tipsy.  
After much drunken ideas and suggestions, Rein suggested he gave the other two intoxicated men a piggyback up the hill. McCree instantly agreed, but Hanzo was hesitant. It wasn't until McCree haggled him into it that he decided to agree - against his better judgement.

The pair were hauled up onto the knights shoulders, and held on for dear life as the drunken giant started his way up the hill. It wasn't the fastest mode of transportation, but Reins long strides made it quicker than all three of them walking back.

The drunken men collapsed in a hearty heap at the main gate, and Angela had to help them inside. Hanzo could find his way back to his room well enough, but the other two men needed both Angela and Ana to help them back.

Lying on his bed, Hanzo realised something.  
He made friends.

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Reviews keep me going!


	4. Chapter 4

"Brother, wake up."  
Hanzo opened his eyes blearily to see Genji standing over his bed. Thinking he was still asleep, he rolled over with a groan and closed his eyes again.  
"You overslept."  
He looked over to the clock on his wall - eight am. This jolted him awake; usually he woke up at six - why didn't his alarm go off?  
Sitting up and rubbing his eyes, he looked at Genji again. The younger ninja had never been any good at hiding his laughter, and the bouncing of his shoulders gave him away - Genji had turned off his alarm on purpose. He sent him a steely glare before hauling himself out of bed and got ready for the day. Realising that Hanzo will probably miss breakfast because of his prank, Genji had taken some food from the mess hall and left it on his desk, which Hanzo found and multitasked eating whilst still trying to get dressed. Watching his brother stalk around his room trying to find his things like a disgruntled bird was probably the funniest thing Genji had ever seen him get caught doing.  
"It is good to see you back to your old self, brother." Hanzo said dryly. Whilst he had missed Genji's jokes, the first prank that he received after a decade of separation just had to be one that made him sleep in. His hair was messy and fell around his shoulders in unorganised clumps, making him feel very uncomfortable, and it wasn't helping that he couldn't find his hair ribbon.  
"Looking for this?"  
Genji held up the golden fabric tauntingly, and Hanzo could hear the smile in his voice. He snatched it out of the cyborgs hand and tied his hair back, still rather disgruntled.

"I did not think you would come and find me as soon as you were released. I was actually going to visit you if you had not released yourself." A smile played across his lips, it was a relief that Genji was well enough to go out on his own without needing Hanzo or Doctor Ziegler to help him. Just goes to show how good the swiss doctor was at her job.

"There's a very nice coffee shop down the hill Hanzo, maybe we should see if some caffeine would wake you up." The smile in Genji's voice never went away, and Hanzo managed a genuine smile.  
"Maybe."

After Genji checked in with the fretful doctor (apparently he never told her he was leaving), the brothers headed down the hill, joking with each other like nothing had ever happened between them. For that entire day, Hanzo felt like they were young again, heading down to the local ramen shop for a break from the intensive training their father put them through. It was refreshing. Calm.

The coffee shop wasn't too far from the end of the mountain path, and the staff already seemed to know Genji by name, greeting him heartily, as if they were old friends. He greeted them all by name too, just like back at the ramen shop in Hanamura.  
They took a seat in one of the booths, and a waitress came to serve them.  
"The usual, I take it?"  
"Yes, but I would also like one for my brother here."  
"Oh, your brother? He looks just like how you described him."  
Hanzo stayed silent, staring at the table. He didn't know if that was a compliment or not really, and with Genji, it usually went both ways.  
"Just as silent as how ya described the fella too."  
An older man came out of the back room, who was soon introduced as old man jock. He gave Hanzo a toothless grin, and set about his work. Hanzo was rather unsettled by it, but knew the man meant well, so he tried to be polite and not show it. Their drinks arrived, and Hanzo was pleasantly surprised to find that Genji had ordered Jasmine Tea; an old childhood favorite.

Genji eventually got Hanzo talking again after much pestering, and the pair of them caught up on what they had been getting up to the past decade. Genji explained how he went to live with his Master Zenyatta, until he got a message from Winston calling Overwatch back together. Then he found his way back to the base, and started to help gather new recruits.

Hanzo on the other hand explained how he wandered from place to place, taking small jobs here and there (mostly assassinations for mafia groups when he could get them), and when Genji found him back in Hanamura, he contemplated actually looking for him. Turns out he didn't need to, because Genji had sent a note through his Masters connections with the Shambali. Hanzo had wandered for ages afterwards, but he had never actually thought seriously about the invitation until recently. He even recounted to Genji about how he shaved the sides of his head and cut his hair one christmas because he lost a bet with a member of the mafia he was helping. This made Genji laugh, and when Hanzo produced the picture of it on his phone, Genji was pretty much crying.  
"Oh brother, you look so silly!"  
"That is exactly why I grew it out again."  
"A good choice, I must say."  
The laughter continued as they told each other about their misadventures, and recounted old childhood memories. Hanzo hadn't felt so happy to actually have a conversation with someone in his life before, and relished in the moment.

"Come on now boys, its closin' time."  
Old man jock looked over at them, cleaning up a glass with a bit of cloth. Hanzo simply nodded and got up, realising that it had gotten dark outside. How long had they been in there?

"It gets dark early in these parts, don't it?" The old man seemed to read Hanzo's mind. "It's about five thirty."  
"Let's go brother, I promised Angela I would be back for a check-up before seven."

"Very well."  
They waved goodbye to the staff and Old man jock, then started back up the hill. They joked and pushed each other around until they got back, tired and smiling. When the pair went to the Medics office, she commented on their high spirits.  
"I don't think I've seen Genji this happy since you accepted his invitation."  
"It is indeed wondrous what can happen over some tea."  
"Maybe you should join us, Angela." Genji suggested, but she politely shook her head and explained that she was far too busy, but if she found the time, she'd take them up on that offer.

"I want to show you something, Genji."  
"Oh?"  
The two were just outside Hanzo's room now, and he opened the door for Genji to see the copious amounts of sketches and landscape drawings decorating the walls and ceiling. His now-repaired bow was resting on the stand Ailsa had made for it on the wall, surrounded by sketches of cherry blossoms, the Hanamura landscape, the bow itself, and fatigue-driven blueprints and prototypes for new arrows.  
Genji was awe-struck; he knew his brother liked drawing, but he never imagined that if he actually sat down regularly to draw, he'd produce so many unique pictures. When they were boys, Hanzo was always swept away and never had the time to play, let alone draw. It was refreshing to see his brother develop a hobby like this.  
"These are amazing."  
"Thank you, Genji."

They stayed on Hanzo's couch for a bit, going through the drawings he couldn't find a place for on the wall, and the prototypes Hanzo had tried to make paper models for. It was peaceful for once, and the pair of them knew it wouldn't last long, so they made the most of it while they still could.

* * *

 **:3c**


	5. Chapter 5

"These creatures are extremely hostile, it is important to not approach them, and evacuate as soon as possible."  
The newsreader looked stony serious as they read the damage report on certain cities. It was humbling and harrowing to hear, and the sorrowful sights displayed on screen were indescribable.

The screen paused.  
"You see, now we have a worldwide issue. The portal that Captain Amari found a few months ago appears to be one of many." Morrison looked over the gathered members and allies of Overwatch., hoping that after he sends them out on this mission, that they all come back alive, even if they're not in one piece.  
"Some militaries have found that the portals can be closed by destroyed a stone of some sorts held by the creatures." He sighed at the looks he got from the team. "I know this sounds like some sort of video game, but I'm afraid this is real."

"I will organise you into groups based on who I've seen you work best with. Group one, you will be tasked with evacuating citizens and protecting anyone who can't get out quickly. Group two, you will be cleanup duty - clear away citizen corpses, and kill off any lingering monsters. Group 3, you're with me. We're going to target the heart of the creatures, and see if we can find the stone that will shut down that portal. However." He paused to let his words sink in, before continuing. "Not all of you will come back alive, or in one piece. You joined this group, Overwatch, so we could protect the innocent. Others are helping because they do not want to see the world end. There is no guarantee that you will come back alive, any of you."

He surveyed the room, taking in everyone's faces as this news hit them. Ana looked nervously over at her daughter, who had volunteered to help them.  
"Jack." She whispered. "Protect Faheera for me."  
"Of course I will."  
There were others that weren't even part of Overwatch, but were volunteering to help; Lucio - an upbeat musician, - A professional Korean gamer with a Mecha, Zarya - one of Russia's best defenders, Zenyatta - Genji's master who had helped their group in the past and two surprising volunteers - two infamous criminals that went by Junkrat and Roadhog. Their reason for helping? Apparently they haven't stolen everything at least once yet.

He read out the groups, making sure that the more...rowdy members of their force were with him.  
There were a few that weren't put on the field - Connor and a small IT-based group was put aside so they could have communication and a better view of their targeted areas with drones. As he was explaining this, a skull icon popped up on the screen, which cut to a video feed. A young woman of mexican descent fiddled with the camera, before stepping back and smiling, giving the camera a cocky wave.  
"Hola."  
"Who are you?" Morrison enquired, borderline furious. "How did you get through our security system?"  
"My name is Sombra, and I'm here to make a deal." She paused, in case Morrison wanted to say something else. "Talon opened those portals, which you probably know already, but I realized that they're fighting a losing battle. There are more military bases - not counting you - than there are of them. So I'm here to help you, if you can help me."

The room was silent before Morrison cleared his throat and asked what exactly she wanted.  
"I can help you take down the monsters _and_ get to the guy who's found a way to control them to an extent. If you do one tiny favour for me." She pulled up a window on her screen. "I need this."  
The image looked like a large computer, a huge block of metal with lights and fans.  
"This is one of Talons databases. All I need is the Data off of this block. Shouldn't be too hard."  
"Why can't you get it yourself though?"  
"Well, 76, its because they'll know it was me." A loud noise sounded from Sombra's room. "I'll be in touch" She said, and the feed cut off.  
"Well, IT group, looks like you have a new member."

The next few days were hectic; most of the team was always in the training room, and Doctor Ziegler was fussing over some of the younger members of the group. Ailsa had to run checks over McCree's mechanical arm, trying to fine-tune the mechanics before he was thrown out into battle again. Genji sat near them, waiting his turn to have is prosthetics checked. He could hear their laughter as they kept making jokes and bad puns and poked fun at each other. The small workshop was warm with joyous mirth, and even Genji found himself chuckling when they threw some of the teasing words his way.  
"If you two go dying on me I swear I'll bring you back and kill you again."  
"Ditto."  
Genji inclined his head in agreement. Once McCree left, Genji took off his visor and looked Ailsa straight in the eyes.  
"I need you to promise me something." He whispered, holding his stare. "Look after Hanzo. I nearly lost him once and I do not want it to happen again."  
"Of course Genji, I don't want him dead either." She replied, dead serious.  
He put his visor back, letting it click into place. Slowly, the banter resumed, and the atmosphere lightened again. A few days prior, Genji had brought in the blueprints that Hanzo had drawn out for different types of arrows he had designed in his spare time, ranging from simple modifications to normal arrows, to detonation devices containing a powerful enough explosion to take out a good chunk of a wall. They stuck to a certain size of arrowhead to keep the streamlining consistent, and once the first one was made, it didn't take much to make large batches of them. Ailsa had even gone so far as to colour-code them with intensity and what they did.

It had taken a lot of haggling with Morrison to get most of them approved, but after the recent events, they were given the all-clear to continue making them.  
Ailsa had been working around the clock to make spare weapons and ammunition, so Hanzo and Reinhardt would bring her food from the mess hall and water. Torbjorn was working alongside her to create more turrets and defenses for the base in preparation for a possible attack.

At one point, Hanzo was called into Morrison's office. The weathered soldier sat at his desk, and slid a document over to the archer as he walked in.  
"This is the plan. I know that you are a trained assassin, so we need you to stay in the backlines."  
"I am afraid I cannot do that. I do not have a scope, and I can still use a blade."  
"Your brother doesn't want you in the front lines."  
"My brother does not hold claim over my life." Hanzo slammed his hands on the table in anger.  
Morrison sighed patiently, looking up at the now-furious man.  
"That is all too true Hanzo."  
"I refuse to be treated like a child. I will only help if you do not force me to go along with these preposterous demands."  
Morrison contemplated this. He could afford to lose a valuable asset like Hanzo, but at the same time, he couldn't risk him dying.  
"I will talk to your brother about it. But that's all I'm going to say about it right now."  
Hanzo grunted indignantly.

"Fine."

He left the imposing room without another word, anger filling his mind. He was being treated like he was a child again - and not in the good way. He was being babied by his brother, despite being the oldest of the two. When he finally slammed the door to his room shut, he yelled in anger, punching a cushion on the couch to let out his rage.

Calming himself down, he rationalized out where he would be better off - in a state of the art building with the highest defenses that can be humanly created, or outside, fending for himself in a rapidly changing world. He tried not to think about what would have become of him had he not accepted Genji's invitation.

Mulling it over, he realized that he was better off here than he ever could have been on his own - he had a fixed place to rest, he was safe, hell, he even had friends now. He still didn't want to go along with the plan that his brother and the commander had come up with; no matter how safe they thought he would be. He could take care of himself as he had done for over a decade, and if those two thought otherwise, he would have to prove them wrong.


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks for the recent review I got, I'll try and keep my commas to a more reasonable number from now on!  
Can't really promise much though, because I'm still not sure how to use semi-colons ;3;.  
With the wording thing, if you mean me over describing things, or certain things not making sense, just point them out or drop me a DM with how I should fix it, seeing as I'll probably be blind to my own mistakes.

Thanks anyway! ^^

* * *

"Get down!"  
The commanders shout rang through the teams ears as another creature lunged at them, missing them by centimeters. It was instantly dissolved with a tsunami of shots and explosions, before the team quickly moved on.  
"The opening is just through there, but be careful, we're getting a load of heat signatures." Connor's voice came through their earpieces, wary yet confident. "Be careful."  
Sure enough, a large tunnel opening was ahead of them, obscured partially by dust and rock.  
Hanzo notched another arrow in preparation for the next attack, staying alert and wary to anything that moved. So far the creatures had demonstrated the ability to leap extensive distances, trap human beings (It was easy enough to free yourself, just shoot around the trapped limb and it lets go), mimic teammates and cast illusions over one person at a time - which is why Morrison commanded them to stick together in the chance they got attacked by one of them.

Plunging deeper into the foreboding cave, they found skeletons - human and non, decaying bodies and body parts. Junkrat kicked one of the disembodied arms and whistled.  
"It's like ah bomb went off in 'ere."  
"Smells as bad too." Ailsa groaned. The entire cave smelled like sulfur and reeked of death. It was sickening to say the least, and even Hanzo was starting to show his discomfort. As they got deeper, they started to find live people, locked in cages, terrified and shaking. Morrison called for the evacuating team to come and rescue the captives, and ushered the team forward, following the growling and groaning that got louder as they approached. Inside the immense cavern was a huge monster, bigger and a lot more dangerous-looking than the others.

The group stayed alert, watching the monster with ever-peaking paranoia. Any move this creature made was enough to make one of the group flinch slightly, although none of them would have admitted to it.  
They tried to edge around it, but Junkrat's pegleg wasn't exactly quiet, and his heavy breathing bodyguard wasn't much better. Eventually, the perpetual force that is Junkrat made a slight mistake - his pegleg slipped and hit the creature, waking it up with an angry yelp. Its eyes locked onto the group, who froze. It was Ailsa who noticed it shift first.  
"Scatter!"  
The group narrowly dodged the things swing at them, and Hanzo wouldn't have been surprised if it burned itself on Junkrats constantly smoking hair. Snarling, the creature took another blind swipe, giving Hanzo a wide enough opening to send a volley of arrows flying into the creature's face, with its eyes the main target. A lot of them didn't hit, but the few that did were enough to possibly blind the creature, and it thrashed around in pain, smacking a few of his comrades in the process. A couple of the foot soldiers were slammed a little too hard for their armour to handle, and fell like ragdolls against the walls. Starting to realise the magnitude of the situation, the remaining members of the group spread out, finding vantage points to fire upon the creature from. Ailsa and a few of the melee-based fighters found a way into its blind spot, inflicting heavy damage along its underbelly. Hanzo aimed for the exposed wounds, snorting at the other soldiers who went for anything but. It howled in anger and pain, taking out a few more foot soldiers and knocking back McCree and Morrison. They appeared winded, but otherwise unharmed. This was good.

It thrashed around more, then let out the worst possible sound any of the fighters had heard before - a mix between a scream and nails scraping down a blackboard. Ailsa withdrew quickly; covering her ears and backing into Hanzo by accident.  
"Sorry."

She gently sat herself down behind a rock to recover, and McCree paused to make sure she'd be able to fight in case he had to call for Doctor Ziegler to pull her out.  
Hanzo turned his attention back to the weakening monster, and spotted a large stone in its exposed neck. He relayed this information to Morrison, who commanded the remaining men to focus it.  
The creature lashed towards Hanzo, who narrowly dodged the swing and repositioned. He didn't like how enclosed this place was or how there weren't enough high ledges for him to get a vantage from. The stone shattered, shaking Hanzo from his thoughts. The creature screamed and launched itself at Morrison, but stopped in its tracks and fell sideways with a death rattle; a panting McCree supporting a possibly deaf Ailsa and holding a still smoking gun aimed at where the creature's skull was stood to the side of it.  
Wordlessly, the remainder of the group helped their wounded out of the cavern and onto the waiting dropship. Doctor Ziegler and Captain Amari were waiting for them, and rushed to help the critically wounded. Ailsa was put on hold for a moment, due to her not having taken any real damage. Lucio came out of the room used for the medical bay to try and see what the damage was to her hearing. She could still hear just fine, but remained unresponsive to physical or aromatic stimuli. This worried Lucio, and he left momentarily to see if one of the doctors could spare a few minutes to give her a more thorough check-up.

It was a few minutes before Ailsa passed out on a bench, startling the group - including Morrison - and caused the already on-edge commander to demand a doctor come to look at the shaken Smith.  
She was rushed onto an empty bed, and checked over. Morrison was fretting and asking questions, whilst Hanzo just sat in sullen silence by the bed. He didn't want to know what made her react in such a way, because he had heard stories of when she was sent out on missions that weren't exactly clean jobs. She had probably heard worse things than this, but he quickly reminded himself of the size of the cavern and volume of the noise. Her prosthetic - usually so useful in allowing her to navigate probably nearly blinded her in a way.

It was hours until she finally responded again by raising her right arm. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and coughed. The doctors ushered everyone out of the room so they could run diagnostics just as the dropship was landing, so most of the passengers simply got off and headed to their rooms, or spent the night with their friends. Hanzo found Genji waiting for him outside, and by the stony expression on Hanzo's face, Genji knew their mission hadn't gone as smoothly as his own.  
"Casualties?"  
"Over half of our group, and half of the remaining members were injured in some way."  
He patted Hanzo on the shoulder, steering the shaken man towards the mountain path.  
"Let's go and get some Tea, brother."

* * *

This chapter was a bit short, but oh well.  
The next chapter is gonna be longer, I promise.


	7. Chapter 7

_Bang!_

Another creature fell to the ground. Hanzo, Genji, Ailsa and McCree had been sent out to check the local areas, but by the time they got back…

The entire facility was under siege, and there were creatures all over the place. McCree downed a few more creatures as the others barrelled towards the entrance. Slamming a hand to the comm, Genji hurriedly yelled something, and all four of them tumbled into the re enforced building.  
"What the fuck." Was all McCree could utter, splattered in strange, purple-ish blood from the creatures.  
Ailsa's prosthetic arm was in bad condition, spattered in a similar substance. She pulled at some of the wires and groaned, leaning back into the wall. She took a moment and checked over her companions, who all assured her that they were fine, if shaken. The only reason why they were even alive was because one of the creatures had ripped that arm off.

Captain Amari hurried over to them, fretting over them as if they were her own children. She eventually let the men go, but hurried Ailsa to the medical bay, lecturing her on how she shouldn't be so reckless.

This left Hanzo, McCree and Genji to figure out what to do now. The walls around the outside of the base were shaking with the impact of the creatures slamming into them, and the three quickly made their way towards Morrisons office - for a lack of anything better to do, and so they can get some clarity about the situation.

The assault went on until the late hours of the night, and Hanzo was having an issue with falling asleep. Genji had paid him a visit, but settled onto one of his chairs and seemed to be asleep.  
He stared at his paper-covered ceiling, sighing heavily. He could hear soldiers running down the corridors, thumping footsteps all around him. He allowed himself to get lost in the noise, chasing the patterns on his ceiling with his eyes. He reflected on what Morrison had told them all, about how there were new creatures pouring out of the portals that they hadn't faced before. His brow furrowed in concern as he recounted it. He could clearly remember Morrison's face as he told him about the upcoming mission, how it could turn out to be a suicide mission. He glanced over at Genji as the words ran around his thoughts like rebellious children.

He didn't want to lose him for a second time.

There might have been a point that Hanzo had drifted into the clutches of sleep, but he didn't notice until it was suddenly morning, with Genji shaking him awake. He handed him a steaming coffee mug and pointed at the clock.  
"This time, that isn't my fault."  
It was 12pm. Hanzo groaned, but quickly realised how long he must have been awake for to warrant this without being woken up by his alarm.

The day went as every other did; far too quickly, and almost dream-like. The constant thumping and howling of the creatures outside reminded him of their situation constantly, like a persistent, morbid notification he couldn't mute.  
It continued like this, until he, McCree, Genji, Tracer (later introduced to him as Lena Oxton), Ailsa, a scientist from China called Mei, Morrison, Ana, Reinhardt, and Lucio were sent into the field. There had been reports from an anonymous informer of a huge influx of creatures around a small town in Africa, and they had been sent out to do some crowd control.

On the dropship, Hanzo watched with a bemused look as Ailsa and Tracer almost immediately got into an argument.  
"Cheers love, I'm stuck with the british mosquito." Ailsa had hissed under her breath, sending a glare to Lena that even Hanzo could feel.  
"At least I'm not an experiment from Talons basement."  
"At least I don't need a device a chimp made to keep myself rooted to this timeline. What are ya, a Doctor Who wannabe?"  
"Winston is not a chimp! He's - "  
"A genetically engineered gorilla, I know."  
"Sometimes I wonder if all you came back with was a freaky pair of prosthetics and a weird affection for bladed weapons."  
"Sometimes I wonder if you know how to keep your mouth shut. Or do I have to do it for you again?"  
Ailsa had hissed the threat to the young time hopper, which seemed to shake poor Lena into remaining silent for the rest of the journey to the point where Hanzo was genuinely curious as to what had sparked such conflict between the two.

When they got there, there was nothing to be seen. Neither head nor tail could been seen of any of the creatures they were told about, and Hanzo was starting to suspect an ambush.  
Slowly the team started to relax, thinking they had misspelt the town's name or the creatures had already been taken out.

It wasn't long until they were proven wrong.

* * *

The scene was a blur, with corpses of the creatures strewn about like deformed ragdolls. The injured team was starting to have an issue fending them off, and Morrison had called for backup so long ago that Hanzo was starting to think they weren't even coming.

At some point, Hanzo, Ailsa, McCree and had been somewhat separated from the others and driven away. They were backed into a corner, and slowly being separated again. They were all badly wounded, and 's Mecha wasn't looking too good.  
Suddenly, Hanzo was caught off guard by a creature grabbing his right arm. He found himself unable to speak as the creature started to pull at it, harder and harder, until he felt the arm pop as it dislocated. He yelled in pain and started to hit the creature harder with his bow, taking out one of its eyes. It didn't let go, suddenly pulling much harder, and tore the arm off. He had a split second of realisation before the creature was felled by a well-aimed shot from McCree. He passed out from the pain shortly afterwards, not hearing the concerned shouts.

She watched the archer fall to one side, and if her eyes could widen, they would. She ran to him, vaulting over a large corpse and knelt next to the fallen man, tearing off her sleeve and wrapping it around his stump to try stem the flow. McCree took off his cape and offered it to her, which she used to pad out the already soaked fabric.  
Satisfied with the blood being somewhat stopped for now, she picked up her weapon and sighed lightly. She wasn't losing another comrade in battle if it killed her. The creatures could smell blood and were starting to move in, and the leader was a little too close for comfort. She dug the blade of her modified machete into the leader's neck, flipping her hand and pulling a trigger hidden in its hilt. The beast fell with a loud screech as a bullet cut through it, and she quickly turned to the rest of the pack, teeth bared and a low snarl escaping her throat. She didn't notice the ones already being felled by her comrades, and threw herself at the monsters, gritting her teeth at every wound she gained as she brawled.

Judging by some of the apologetic shouts that reached her ears, some of the scratches may have been from friendly fire.  
Between the cowboy, the young gamer and the brawler, the creatures numbers were quickly dealt with, and the remaining few ran away with their tails between their legs, so to speak. The rest of the group had finally found them, and Genji found Hanzo being supported by McCree and Ailsa yelling at the barely conscious man with tears streaming down her face.  
"You stupid bastard, I promised Genji I'd look out for ya, and you go and do this!"  
A forced smile graced Hanzo's face.  
"I thought that you could not see."  
"Now is not the time to make jokes, I swear to god."  
Ana and Lucio had a hard time trying to keep Genji away as they tended to his brother. Time seemed to slow down as he watched the doctors do their work, dragging on for an eternity before Ailsa was called to enter the room. He watched as they conversed with her, seeing every last detail from her curt nod and grim expression to the apologetic glances thrown Hanzo's way.  
Genji intercepted Ailsa as she left, cutting her off on her way down the corridor.  
"What did the doctors say?"  
"He's gonna recover, if that's what you're asking."  
"No, what did they ask you to do?"  
She looked hesitant, before finally giving in.  
"They wanted me to make him a prosthetic, that's all."  
Genji's shoulders relaxed.  
"That was all? Why were you so hesitant to tell me?"  
"I know what it's like to lose an arm. I didn't know how you'd react seeing as uh…"  
She trailed off, but Genji realised what she meant.  
"I should really get to building it. Maybe you should stick with him."

And with that, she brushed past him and into the forge, locking the door behind her.


	8. Chapter 8

"C'mon, lemme see it!"  
"No."  
"Why not?"  
"Because you'd probably break it."  
She ignored McCree's pestering and opened the door to Hanzo's room, giving the weary man a bright smile. She placed the cloth-wrapped shape on his table, and unwrapped it.  
"I'm gonna need ya to brace yourself Hanzo, this usually hurts."  
Positioning the clasps of the arm over the dock, she counted under her breath before pushing it into place as quickly as she could. From Hanzo's repressed grunt of pain, she realised that he was probably being too proud to actually show it hurt.

"Quit it with your man-pride or whatever, it hurts, you can yell if you want."  
Through clenched teeth, Hanzo replied rather curtly.  
"And how would you know?"  
She shook her head, chuckling a little.  
"You never noticed? You know my legs are prosthetics, and trust me, those hurt a lot more to fit."

"I meant...nevermind."  
"Hey, at least we're twins!" She laughed at his confused expression and rolled up her sleeve. "See?"  
Her right arm was covered in segmented metal - a signature of her work.  
"Ho-"  
"Also, you're gonna need to manually configure it. It'll feel weird for a while until you do, so don't go out and do something reckless."  
She brushed off his question before he even asked it, and he knew better than to pry. Answers come in their own time.

He flexed the fingers, rolling his shoulder like he had slept on it awkwardly. It was certainly strange to have one, unfeeling limb parallel his other perfectly.  
"If you need help, just find me, alright? McCree and Genji would be able to help you too."  
He inclined his head in understanding. At least he could still fight.

A few days passed, and there wasn't one day that Hanzo wasn't found in his room, sitting amongst his bedsheets with his shoulders shaking in a silent weep. He never let anyone but Genji see him cry, but would tell no-one but himself why. Most people assumed it was the shock and realisation of losing a limb, but that wasn't quite right. It was part of the problem, of course, but the main thing that was able to bring a man so cold to tears…  
Was his own doubt.  
Was this really where he belonged? He hadn't been in Overwatch for any longer than 6 months, if that, and he had already lost a limb. He had managed to be alone for a decade without a serious injury - not counting when he fractured his arm trying to help a child - but around people?  
He shook his head.

He knew he should stay here, it wasn't Overwatch's fault. He had been reckless and let his guard down, didn't check his surroundings. Besides, the world had changed, he knew that. His constant internal war prevented him from helping anyone, let alone himself, and that further threw him into the rabbit hole. He made a decision the next day. He was going to do something, help someone, even if it's just himself.


End file.
